Illustration; Basilica of the Sagrada Família (Barcelona)
Pope Leo’s General Audience
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Scripture Reading (John 4:35, 38)
[Jesus said to his disciples:] “Do you not say, ‘Four more months, and the harvest will come’?
Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields as they are white for the harvest. […]
I have sent you to reap what you have not labored for.
Others have toiled, and you have entered into their labors.”
Pope Leo’s General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today I would like to offer a few reflections on the Apostolic Journey that I made last week to Spain, visiting Madrid, Barcelona, the Abbey of Montserrat and the Canary Islands.
After the long journey to four African countries, this time I found myself immersed in a European country with an old and extremely rich Catholic tradition.
It was also clear that in today’s Spain, which has experienced significant social and cultural changes, the Pope was received everywhere with enthusiasm and readiness to listen.
For this I give thanks to God and to the entire Spanish people, the King and the civil authorities, the bishops and the ecclesial communities.
The people of God gave me great comfort with their joyful expression of their faith and affection.
I, for my part, have strengthened the faithful and, as Bishop of Rome, encouraged them to overcome all forms of division and confrontation, by constantly cultivating communion, dialogue and unity in diversity.
This is the ministry of the Successor of Peter, a service that finds its particular expression in the Apostolic Journeys, always adapted to the ecclesial and social situation of the countries visited.
In the case of Spain, I was happy to see how much people – of every age and in every situation – awaited the Pope’s visit: everywhere I met crowds that welcomed me with great affection.
It was not something obvious and deserves reflection.
Of course, this participation expresses above all – as I have said – the faith of the Spanish people.
At the same time, however, I think that it shows the universal need to find unity on a true and deep foundation, not ideological or related to particular interests.
In the final analysis, this foundation can only be provided by Christ, and the Gospel, through the necessary “inculturations”, can transmit it to the lives of peoples.
It can do so because its message fully responds to both these needs: the search for truth and the desire for justice.
In Madrid and Barcelona, we gathered in the great Cathedral as well as in modern stadiums.
We prayed the Holy Rosary in the Abbey in Montserrat.
We celebrated the liturgy in the Sagrada Família – a majestic symbol, a symphony of stone and light, which speaks to everyone about the Christian mystery.
This encounter between the ancient and the modern, the Catholic tradition and contemporary culture, allowed me to feel vividly the true character of Europe and its priceless richness – as a reality that is still alive and not obsolete.
It is a heritage that must be carefully guarded so that it can be used creatively in today’s global world, with its epochal challenges: peace, integral ecology, just and sustainable development, and respect for human dignity.
These are challenges that the Second Vatican Council had already clearly recognized and to which the later Magisterium has returned, up to my recent Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which aims to care for the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.
During the various meetings, I saw the need to hear in the voice of the Pope the Gospel of hope for our humanity today, acutely affected by the negative consequences of the deceptive model of development.
This need – expressed in the many testimonies that I was able to listen to, sometimes touching, sometimes edifying – I recognized.
I also recognized the need
– in the faces of the smallest and poor whom I met:
– in the face of the child who was waiting for me in the parish to give me his letter;
– in the faces of the prisoners who waited for me in prison;
– in the faces of the young people who were waiting for me in the squares, full of anxiety and plans;
– in the faces of the migrants who were waiting for me in the migrant centres in the Canary Islands.
It was there, in the Canary Islands, the last stage of our journey, that I was given the key to read the whole thing.
It was given to me on the one hand by the geographical location of this archipelago and, on the other, by the reality of the local Church, which welcomes a large number of forced migrants, mainly from Africa.
We know that migration is complex and requires holistic and agreed action plans.
This key of reading, however, opens up another, broader perspective.
It enables us to understand that we are called to reread the Gospel in today’s world, exchanging the gifts proper to our cultures, and especially the fruits that the fruitfulness of Christ’s message has borne in them.
One of these fruits is precisely dialogue between individuals and between peoples, an encounter in a spirit of fraternity, which allows one to discover and appreciate the values that the other person carries within each other.
This path is not easy, it requires good will and God’s help, but it is the path that leads to the civilization of love.
Dear brothers and sisters, the motto of this Apostolic Journey was the words: “Alzad la mirada!” – “Lift up your eyes!” (cf. John 4:35).
These are the words of Jesus addressed to his first disciples, to teach them to see in people and in crowds the desire for life, truth and fullness.
The Lord repeats these words first to myself, and by His grace I have been able to experience them on this journey as well.
Today I would like to share with you this invitation: let us raise our eyes!
Let us learn from Jesus to look at our neighbor, people and the world “with the eyes of God”, that is, with love, respect and compassion.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who have prayed for the success of this Apostolic Journey, especially the communities of contemplative nuns, which are very numerous in Spain, thank God.
Continue to pray that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the seeds which I have sown may bear abundant fruit. Thank you!
_____________________________
Summary of the Holy Father’s words:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In today’s catechesis, I would like to share some reflections with you on my Apostolic Journey to Spain last week.
Throughout the trip, I was comforted to see the joyful expression of faith and affection shown by the people of God, as well as the crowds that welcomed me with such warmth. During the various events, I sensed not only the deep-rooted faith of the Spanish people, but also a desire for the unity and hope that can only be found in Christ and in his love for us.
The experience reminded me of the cultural wealth of Europe, its strong Catholic heritage and the role it can currently play in promoting peace, respect for human dignity and fraternal dialogue as we seek to build a true civilization of love.
As you know, the motto of the Journey was “Lift up your gaze!” (cf. John 4:35),
and I would like to extend this invitation to you as well: lift your gaze to the Lord.
And let us learn from him to see other people and the world around us as he does.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for the success of the Apostolic Journey.
Please continue to pray that it bears much fruit.
